accept what I have, because what I have is more than enough. I know Ella is safe. I know where she is. That is more than I have had in a very long time.
Warden traces the line of my collar with his fingertip. “You're mine,” he reminds me. “All mine. And I am going to always do whatever I have to to keep you safe, and make you happy.”
Those words fill me with warm comfort, but there is still a sliver of doubt. “What if you can’t make me happy? What if some things can never be made better?”
“Ella is alive. You are alive. And where there is life, there is hope.”
Captive
Scizzor
I have decided that I will accept captivity. There is no real freedom in existence anyway. If one has to always follow the rules set by others, one may as well be locked up in a dark box. It makes no real difference to the outcome anyway.
Occasionally the pink thing pops in to say something inane, but for the most part I am alone with my thoughts, which are mostly occupied by Eleven. I barely know her, but I believe I might be missing her.
I may be days, or perhaps weeks into my incarceration when the cranks open and light streams in. Warden fills the space with his oversized body. The first-hatched is here, perhaps to kill me. If I do die, my last thoughts will be of Eleven. Fitting, in an ironic sort of way. I have fallen in love with a human I barely know, and I will die before she ever knows me. That seems about right for the way my life’s trajectory has gone.
“Scizzor.”
Warden says my name in that smug way he has where I know he knows I know he has all the power.
“What do you want, Warden?”
“I take it you’re not enjoying captivity, and you have a pregnant mate who needs you.”
“The human is not my mate.”
“She seems to think she is. Be quiet long enough for me to make you an offer.”
“I’m listening.”
“Eleven needs you, so I am prepared to give you some limited freedom to be with her.”
“And the price for that is being under your control?”
“The price for that is you help her to reconnect with her mother.”
I snort. What a bizarre request to make of a scythkin. “I think you’re looking for a therapist, and the last therapist on Earth was annihilated in the timesplosion, before being turned into a small white dog, last I heard. So good luck.”
“I’m not looking for a therapist. I’m looking for the only creature Eleven respects. You.”
There’s something in his voice which makes me think there has to be more to this than there first seems.
“What’s going on? Is one scrawny pregnant human female too much for you to handle?”
“She's been making her mother cry. Refuses to acknowledge her.”
“Good.”
“Not good. Not good for Silver, not good for me, not good for Eleven, and not good for you,” Warden growls.
I sense that I have an advantage, and like all advantages, it must be pressed.
“I want my quarters. I want my pet, and I want…”
“Let’s see if you can help before you start making grand demands,” Warden replies, lifting his hand up to stop me in my wordy tracks.
Having made a temporary agreement to potentially help, Warden frees me from my cell and leads me to what sounds like a battle royale
“You’re not my mom!” I barely recognize Eleven’s voice when it is raised at that level of outrage.
“I am your mother,” Silver insists. “We have run three different DNA tests.”
“I don’t give a fuck what the DNA says. My mother is dead.” Eleven’s words are sharper than any scythkin blade.
We walk into the room, and both human women fall silent. I do not bother to look at Silver. I could not care less about her, but it is good to see Eleven again. She is looking much healthier than she did the last time I saw her. Her face looks fuller. Her skin is clearer. Her eyes are brighter. She is a very beautiful young human. They have dressed her in a modest, but relatively short yellow gown which suits her skin tone very well, and attempts to make the burgeoning bump of her stomach seem less obvious. She looks innocent and sweet, an illusion which grows when she catches sight of me and blushes deeply.
“Hello, human.”
“Master," she says, inclining her head. She obviously intends to bow. I reach out to stop her before